Nepal: Camera Sika

In December 2019 Into Film, working with the British Council, sent three UK Filmmakers to Nepal to work with 13 schools and youth organisations as part of our ongoing work on the Camara Chica project, which provides filmmaking training and equipment to young people abroad and/or in official development assistance countries. And we are delighted to be able to finally show you the films our groups made.

To assist on the project, British Council Nepal partnered with both UNICEF and Nepal's Film Development Board, and also recruited local mentors from a variety of backgrounds (including film, television, radio, and social change organisations) to assist with the running of the project. The Nepalese edition of Camara Chica was called Camera Sika, which means "camera learning" in Nepalese.

Use the links below to jump to the film of your choice, or keep reading to find out more about our filmmaking adventures in Nepal.

• Colours of Life
• The Guilt
• Hidden Dream
• Alone Boy
• Orphan Boy
• Marked
• Days of Raksha
• The Goal
• Pangra Jatra 2019
• Sweeperman
• Bad Luck
• Samarpand ko Sapna
• The Thirst
• Best Friends
• Back to School

Everything started in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu, where our filmmakers delivered a two-day workshop to all of the educators, youth leaders and mentors that would be delivering filmmaking workshops to young people across Nepal. Following this, our groups worked for two weeks in-and-around Kathmandu, delivering the Camera Sika programme to individual schools over a five day workshop, before travelling to cluster groups of schools in Jhapa (West Nepal) and Bharatpur (South Nepal) in the project's final week.

Overall, 145 young people that took part in the project, working on shot types, story building, and group theatre activities, before completing a series of ever-expanding exercises that started with a three-shot storytelling journey and culminated in their final group project films. A total of 14 final films were completed and the results were wonderfully inspiring.

Throughout their films, the young people spontaneously focused on themes of inclusion, acceptance, forgiveness and unity, while some films also explored notions of respect for elders, the importance of education, and consideration for those less fortunate and from different castes.

Each participating school was left with their own iPad filmmaking kit to continue their filmmaking journey. Here is what some of the participating educators had to say afterwards:

• "I learnt so many more things from this project. We will continue this project in future".

• "Film is a great medium to say things kids don't say to their parents often. We can now know what the kids really want, what they are trying to say, the problems they are facing. It's an amazing project".

• "This is really unique. Ordinarily we wake up, we meditate, we do yoga. That's normal. When we captured it in our film it was so amazing. That will help them build confidence that they don't need any other thing except for a camera".

And here's what some of the young people had to say:

• "It's amazing training, its useful in our life, it's very important because it [not only] taught us to shoot a film [but] it taught us how to show our feelings".

• "I just loved this project. It's the best project that I have ever done. It was awesome".

You can see all of the completed films below. Most of the films are in Nepalese and have subtitles, so remember to hit the CC (closed captions) button in the bottom right-hand-corner of the video to turn them on.

Check out the the final films from the Nepal: Camera Sika project below, and please let us know what you think of our young Nepalese filmmakers' work!

Colours of Life

Sita, a young girl from a small village, is starting at a new school in the big city. She doesn't know anyone there, and doesn't speak any English. Surely the students will accept her - or will they?

This film was created with the assistance of a filmmaking mentor from Nepal assisting the young filmmakers at John Dewey School, Kathmandu.

The Guilt

A student who gets no breakfast before school makes a terrible decision. Will the guilt be too much for her?

This film was created by the young people at Samriddhi school with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Hidden Dream

A student is not paying attention to her exams, could this be because of her hidden dream of becoming an artist?

This film was created by the young people at Creative Academy with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Alone Boy

A young boy finds it difficult to make friends and do well at school, but his mother has some good advice for him.

This film was created by the young people at Shikharapur Community School with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Orphan Boy

A young orphan boy teaches himself by finding scraps of paper and watching a teacher through a window - will no one help this boy to get the education he wants?

This film was created by the young people at Shikharapur Community School with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Marked

This film looks at a cultural tradition in Nepal that claims the lives of many young women every year, and sees a young girl punished by her mother by being forced to live with the animals.

This film was created by the young people at Spring Dell Academy with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Days of Raksha

Kiran is the new girl at a shelter for young women. She's scared and alone and no one knows it's her birthday. Will her new sisters accept her?

This film was created by the young people at Raksha Nepal with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

The Goal

A group of young football fans can't find anywhere to play - maybe a friendly Nepal fan can help?

This film was created by the young people at John Dewey High School with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Pangra Jatra 2019

A documentary on the Panga Jatra festival in Kathmandu.

This film was created by the young people at Creative Academy with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Sweeperman

A young girl loses her diary, and the only person who can help her is someone she previoisly treated wrongly in this cautionary tale about having respect for everyone.

This film was created by the young people at Shree Adhunik Rastriya, Vishwa Jyoti, and Gyan Bagaichaa schools with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Bad Luck

A young boy's superstitions are creating problems for him - will he learn his lesson in time?

This film was created by the young people at Sri Sri Ravishankar school with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Samarpand ko Sapna

Samarpand's parents are working abroad and he's making life a misery for his little brother and sister. Can he learn to be a better brother while following his dreams?

This film was created by the young people at Shree Adhunik Rastriya, Vishwa Jyoti, and Gyan Bagaichaa schools with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

The Thirst

A group of friends spend their day off from school in the beautiful tea fields of Ilam, when bullying rears its ugly head. Will one girl learn the error of her ways?

This film was created by the young people from the Mansarovar Institute of Science and Technology with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Best Friends

A misunderstanding creates a rift in a friendship - can everything be put right in time?

This film was created by the young people at Jhapa Marigold School with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.

Back to School

A father decides to take his daughter out of school so she can help with chores, but will he learn the importance of her education?

This film was created by the young people at Sunflower Academy with the assistance of filmmaking mentors from the UK and Nepal.